On the cusp of a busy 2014, Indianapolis-based author John Green is navigating the great and maybe-not-so-great as 2013 comes to a close.

He expressed gratitude on Thursday, when this year's "Project for Awesome" charitable initiative wrapped up with $733,827 in pledges -- far outpacing the 2012 total of $405,000.

Green and his brother, Hank, led "Project for Awesome" as a 48-hour YouTube "videothon" for the seventh year. The drive to help not-for-profit organizations continues at crowd-funding site IndieGoGo until 3 a.m. Monday (midnight Sunday on the West Coast).

An unexpected controversy arose in connection to one of the donation perks at the IndieGoGo page: the first promotional poster for the film adaptation of Green's "The Fault in Our Stars" novel (available for $25, or $125 for a copy signed by Green).

Actors Shailene Woodley, top right, and Ansel Elgort, bottom right, are seen on the first promotional poster for the film "The Fault in Our Stars."(Photo: Twentieth Century Fox / Getty Images (2))

The poster shows actors Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, who portray Indianapolis teenagers Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. The poster's tag line, "One Sick Love Story," has been criticized by members of Green's "Nerdfighters" fan base for striking the wrong tone as it relates to two fictional cancer patients falling for one another.

Green posted a response at his Tumblr page, noting that his involvement in the film is limited to writing the book that inspired it -- a status that doesn't extend to generating ad copy to promote the movie.

Nevertheless, he complimented the tag line for capturing the "dark and angry" humor of the Hazel character:

"I mostly wanted something that said, 'This is hopefully not going to be a gauzy, sentimental love story that romanticizes illness and further spreads the lie that the only reason sick people exist is so that healthy people can learn lessons.' But that's not a very good tag line. I like the tag line because it says, literally, the sick can also have love stories. Love and joy and romance are not just things reserved for the well," Green wrote.

Green also mentioned being pleased that the poster includes Woodley wearing a nasal cannula -- a reality for thyroid cancer patients with metastasis forming in their lungs.

The "Fault" film, directed by Josh Boone, is scheduled for release on June 6.

Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.